Polished rod clamps



Nov. 10, 1970 J. F. RIVES POLISHED ROD CLAMPS 2 Sheets-5heet 1 Filed Oct. 14, 1968 INVENTOR JOE FRANK RIVES fan, 4 M4 ATTORNEY Nov. 10, 1970 J. F. RIVES 3,538,559

. POLISHED ROD CLAMPS Filed Oct. 14, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 9 FIG. 8

United States Patent 01 lice 3,538,559 Patented Nov. 10, 1970 3,533,559 POLISHED ROD CLAMPS Joe Frank Rives, Berger, Tex., assignor to J. M. Huber Corporation, Locust, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Oct. 14, 1968, Scr. No. 767,202 Int. Cl. A44b 21/00 US. Cl. 24249 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hinged-type polished rod clamp adapted to be mounted with two or more similar clamps on a single hinge pin to provide for improved functional combinations of the polished rod clamps.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In general, the present invention relates to polished rod clamps and more particularly to polished rod clamps of the hinged-type.

The usual method of pumping a petroleum well is by a pump actuated by a string of sucker rods. The polished rod is the short top section of the string of sucker rods. The polished rod section is round and highly polished in order to reciprocate through the stuffing box without undue wear. The load of the well is transferred from the polished rod to the beam hanger of the surface pumping unit by a gripping device known as a polished rod clamp. The polished rod clamp must be rugged, strong and capable of providing a firm, positive grip. While meeting with the above requirements, it is desirable that the polished rod clamp consist of a minimum of independent parts and have as light a weight as possible in order that it will be easy to install and remove. The polished rod clamp must carry the entire well load without slipping on or marring the smooth surface of the polished rod.

The prior art in this area has had difiiculty in achieving polished rod clamps capable of supporting the required loads Without slipping while at the same time achieving a clamp structure which is easily handled when applied to and removed from the polished rod.

'In particular, several multi-bolt clamping arrangements have been attempted in the prior art. These arrangements utilized a multi-bolt array in a unity plate. This arrangement results in achieving only the benefit of the tightest of the several bolts, with the remaining bolts being largely ineffective. In these arrangements utilizing a unitary structure, the tightening of one bolt always affects and often reduces the tension in the remaining bolts in the array. Such a multi-bolt array can in general only be successfully balanced by the use of a torque wrench or a similar device not well suited for use under oil field conditions.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new, highly effective polished rod clamp and method for mounting the polished rod clamps which overcomes the deficiences of the prior art as described above.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a strong, rugged clamping device.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a clamp which will hold the polished rod without marring its surface and without slipping within the range of designed loads.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a clamp which may easily and conveniently be installed and removed.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a mounting of a plurality of polished rod clamps to achieve the above recited objects.

Other objects and a further understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art and achieves its objectives by providing for the mounting of a plurality of individual hinged-type polished rod clamps on a single hinge pin in a manner set forth in detail in the description of the preferred embodiments below.

The arrangement of the present invention allows for the production of the cumulative grip of the independently hinged clamps while at the same time allowing the plurality of clamps to be handled as a single unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to facilitate the understanding of the present invention, reference will now be made to the appended drawings of preferred embodiments of the present invention. The drawings should not be construed as limiting the invention but are examplary only. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective representation of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the female hinged clamping element of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional side view of the female hinged clamping element of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the female hinged clamping element of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the male hinged clamping element of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the male hinged clamping element of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the male hinged clamping element of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the pivotal T-headed bolt and hex nut of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an end view of the T-headed bolt with hex nut attached of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown generally at 10 in FIG. 1 in which a plurality of three individual clamps indicated at 12, 14, and 16 are mounted on a single hinge pin 18.

Each of the individual clamps 12, 14, and 16 comprises an upper and a lower clamping element which may be effectively closed and compressed about a polished rod as desired by a pivotal T-headed bolt 20- and hex nut 22.

The upper and lower clamping element are referred to throughout the present application as the male and the female hinged clamping elements in order to more particularly point out the present invention since the geometries of the clamp of the present invention do not require either of the individual clamping elements to assume a position necessarily characterized as above or below the opposing element. Indeed as will be made clear in the description which follows it is desirable to reverse the positioning of the respective elements in adjacent clamps as a part of the present invention.

The female hinged clamping element 24 is shown in detailed top, bottom and partial cross-sectional side views in FIGS. 2, 4, and 3 respectively. Each of the female hinged clamping elements 24 has two extensions 26 which are drilled with holes 28 to fit around a hinge pin 18. The female hinged clamping elements 24 have raised portions 30 which make clamping contact with the polished rod (not shown). At least some of the raised portions 30 of the female hinged clamping elements are positioned to lie opposite recessed portions of the male hinged clamping elements 36. Each of the female hinged clamping elements 24 has a slant tapered or tilted hole 32 as shown in FIG. 3 which allows the T-headed bolt with its hex nut 22 attached to undergo a swinging or tilting, pivotal movement without complete removal of the hex nut 22. The hex nut 22 is provided with room to rotate by means of recessed portion 34 in the top surface of female hinged clamping element 24.

Each of the male hinged clamping elements 36 shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 has a single extension 38 which is drilled with a suitable hole 40 to fit around a hinge pin 18. At least some of the raised portions 42 of the male hinged clamping elements 36 are offset so as to lie opposite recessed portions of the female hinged clamping elements 24. A slot 44 is provided in each of the male hinged clamping elements 36 to receive the T-headed fastening bolt 46 as it is swung or pivoted into locking position. A recessed locking portion 48 of each male hinged clamping element 36 having a configuration as shown in FIG. 7 is provided to lock the T-headed bolt in fastening position. A quarter of a turn of the T- headed bolt head in the recessed locking portion 48 (and a few turns of the hex nut) secures the clamping elements firmly in place. A reversal of these steps allows for the tilting motion of the bolt 46 and quick removal of the clamps 12.

The T-headed bolt 20 having shaft 46 and hex nut 22 is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

While the configurations shown for each of the elements are referred to throughout as the preferred embodiments of the present invention any other suitable configuration as would suggest itself to one of ordinary skill in the art may be employed.

In the preferred embodiments, any suitable materials such as steel or the like exhibiting the desired properties of smoothness, high tensile strength, and workability may be employed.

In operation, a clamp of desired load bearing capabilities which is safe, light and easy to apply may be composed by placing two or more clamps 12 of the type described above on a single hinge pin 18. It is preferred that adjacent clamp 12 be placed on hinge pin 18 so that the adjacent clamps have the T-headed bolt heads in opposite directions. As a consequence it is desirable that a female hinged clamping element 24 be adjacent a male hinged clamping element on each side on both the top and bottom rows of clamping elements.

The extended portions 26 and 38 of the clamping elements in one of the top or bottom rows and the corresponding portions of the hinge pin 18 may be keyed, dimpled or otherwise scored or deformed so as to prevent rotary motion of one half of the clamping elements and thereby effectively provide a single unitary section of one half of the clamping elements (those on one side or the other of the clamp). As an alternative, suitable complementary deformations of the sides of adjacent clamping elements may be used to provide one side of the clamping elements as a unitary device while allowing the corresponding mating elements on the other half to be freely pivotable.

In this manner, great ease in applying and removing the clamp is obtained while giving the user the option of tailoring the load capabilities of the clamp to his specific requirements.

Because of the independent clamping action obtained in the present invention loads greater than the multiple rating of the individual elements combined may often be obtained.

While the invention has been described with reference to its preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from its essential teachings.

What is claimed is:

1. A polished rod clamping device comprising two or more separate, unitary individually hinged clamping means, each of said separate unitary individually hinged clamping means being mounted on a single hinge pin and each of said separate unitary individually hinged clamping means comprising a female hinged clamping element having two spaced extensions drilled with holes to fit around said hinge pin and an opposing male hinged clamping element having a single extension drilled with a hole to fit around said hinge pin in the space between said spaced extensions of said female hinged clamping element, each of said separate unitary individually hinged clamping means being separately closable and fastenable in a closed clamping relationship by a T- headed pivotable bolt means associated with one of said clamping elements thereof said pivotable bolt being engageable by rotation with a portion of one of the said clamping elements opposite from the clamping element with which said pivotable bolt means is associated, whereby each of said separate unitary individually hinged clamping means may be independently tightened to the desired tension independently of the tension applied to any other of the separate unitary individually hinged clamping means mounted on the single hinge pin which said separate unitary individually hinged clamping means share in common.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 216,112 6/1879 Sickels. 585,406 6/1897 Rhind. 1,617,532 2/1927 Madsen. 1,855,347 4/1932 Goble. 2,260,544 10 1941 Stanley. 2,346,859 4/ 1944 Mills. 2,645,454 7/ 1953 Nourse. 2,849,777 9/1958 Ridgers et al. 3,114,188 12/1963 Nourse.

DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner 

